The Unforgiving North Atlantic 10/13- 10/14

The New Jersey Coast has not been horrible, but the weather forecasting has been. Light westerly breezes were forecast for both Friday and Saturday, but reality was strong winds from the south, on our nose. On Saturday we took some pounding with 5-7 foot seas and some scary offshore shoals near Little Egg Inlet. We also saw our first brown pelican which seems to us like a southern bird.
The next morning we attended a beautiful mass at St. Nicholas Church in Atlantic City near the Trump Taj Mahal casino complex. I skipped gambling (money is going fast enough as it is), but later on when out for a walk with Sam, Mary Ann put all the money she had, a quarter, in a slot machine, lost, and quit.
We anchored Sunday night and started for the last of our New Jersey stops, Cape May , twenty minutes before dawn. Sam was at the helm when the sun rose over a smooth sea and a perfectly blue sky. No wind, but we motored south in comfort; the boat steered herself, but I held he wheel for the sake of appearances.
The food continues to be good; in Cape May we enoyed some very fresh flounder, couscous, and broiled veggies.